Wings Around Waukesha: Homemade Wings

As you know, hubby and I love chicken wings and try them whenever we can.

About a year ago, hubby and I made wings at home for the first time. It was definitely a new experience for both of us and it turned out so well. The wings were oven baked and amazing--I couldn't have asked for a better first experience.

The worst part of making wings is having to separate the wingette from the drumette. My coworker told me about Cermak and that it has an incredible butcher department. I went and checked it out for myself. Indeed the butcher department was very impressive with every cut of meat you can imagine. I was able to find packages of fresh chicken wingettes and drumettes already separated. Hubby was so excited we were going to have homemade wings again!

I couldn't find the original recipe that I used to cook the chicken wings the last time, but relied on Pinterest, and the amazing bloggers that share their recipes on the platform, to guide to me to another good one.

I put all the wings in a big bowl and sprinkled baking powder and salt over them and flipped them around. The next step was to put them on wire racks over baking sheets. A recommendation would be to foil cover the baking sheets for easier cleanup.

This recipe has the wings bake at a low temp for the first 30 minutes and then you raise the temp for the last 40 minutes. During that time, I made the sauces.

Searching chicken wing sauces on Pinterest brings a ridiculous amount of pins. But one struck my interest right away--copycat Buffalo Wild Wing sauces. My hubby loves BW3s so I asked him to pick his faves for dinner--he chose Parmesan Garlic and Asian Zing.

I had everything for the Parmesan garlic, but I was missing Sriracha for the Asian Zing. I subbed cayenne and Frank's Red Hot. I also recently bought an Apricot Bourbon sauce so I added a tablespoon of butter to thin it out and gave us three choices.

I recommend keeping your wing sauces warmer so when the wings are dipped in them, they don't cool down. And sauces with a butter base will thicken when not kept warm (as you can see in the photo above.) The surface of my stove gets warm when the oven is on, so I put the sauces on it so warm up.

Though the recipe didn't call for it, I flipped the wings with about 10 minutes left.

I let the wings rest for five minutes when they came out of the oven and then it was everyone from themselves! Not really, but I showed hubby how to sauce them up and we went to town. Place a few wings in your sauce of choice and flip them around. Using tongs, I grabbed them out, let them drip off, and then plated them up.

My favorite sauce was the Parmesan garlic (right). The Asian zing (center) ended up rather runny, my guess because of my Frank's sub instead of sriracha that is thicker. But the flavor was there. Apricot Bourbon was good as well (left).

Though the sauces coated the wings, the wings stayed nice and crispy. This was definitely a success and I have since pinned the recipe to be able to find it in the future.

I also used my air fryer for the first time to make homemade fries. I will share my thoughts on the air fryer once I use it a bit more. But so far, so good!

Have you ever made wings at home? What are your favorite wing sauces?


Zubleton Wings Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.5

Flavors: 4.5 Drumsticks (I offered 3, which hubby said was pretty awesome being we were home, but ultimately could have made as many as I want.) 

Size: 4.5 Drumsticks 

Taste: 4 Drumsticks - the runny Asian zing was what brought this down. 

Price: 4.5 Drumsticks (.43 each - I had all the ingredients already at home for the sauces)

Temp: 5 Drumsticks - nice and hot

Sauces: Ranch

Veggies: Celery and carrots :)

Wet Naps: napkins while eating, plenty of soap and sinks to wash up with

Wings Around Waukesha: Club 400 Wings

I am a Carroll University (but back in my day College) alum and one of the places that I frequented on a Thursday night, for a few libations to relax after a stressful week of classes, was Club 400. That bar and Mulligans (now Spurs Saloon) were the closest bars to campus for the Carroll community to enjoy. I never ate food there during my college days, but it was shortly after I graduated and started my "real job" that I found out about the upstairs at Club 400 and spent many Thursday nights up there.

On Thursdays and select weekend nights, the upstairs of Club 400 is open to accommodate the increased number of diners. Though I used to go with my coworker and her family and close friends, many of my fellow Carroll alum would be in attendance as well. It was always great to catch up and I made a few new friends as well.

I hadn't been to Club 400 for quite a few years, but recently my fiance and I were looking for a place to eat and he had never been. We arrived early and took one of the few booths across from the bar on the main level. The building is a historic landmark and the itricate wood detailing of the back bar definitely shows off this fact. I walked up to the bar to see how the wings had changed since I had last been there. They now have order forms and you order by the 1/2 or full pound, pick one of the ten sauces, blue cheese or ranch, and celery.

I ordered a pound of teriyaki wings with bone-in and my fiance ordered a half of each garlic Parmesan and Thai flavored boneless wings. We were feeling glutinous and ordered onion rings and sour cream and chive fries too.

It didn't take long for our food to arrive and our little booth for two was completely covered with baskets. They brought over a bucket for wing bones and the table had napkins on it.

We dug in while the food was hot. My wings were just as good as I remembered. They are a decent size wing and just enough sauce. The sauce had great flavor as well. I was able to finish almost all my wings.

My fiance liked his Thai wings better than the garlic Parmesan. Because of my sensitive buds, I only tried once of the garlic Parmesan--it reminded me of Pizza Hut's garlic breadsticks that they used to sell in the PIT at Carroll. Ahhhh the memories!

The sour cream and chive fries were delicious as always with ranch on the side and the onion rings were really big and yummy.

If you are looking for a great wing place in town, Club 400 is the place to go - and non-wing eaters will find plenty on the menu as well.

Club 400 Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.4

Flavors: 4 Drumsticks (10 flavors - many were too spicy for me)

Size: 4 Drumsticks

Taste: 4 Drumsticks

Price:  2.5 Drumsticks on non-wing night 7.00 / 4.5 Drumsticks on wing night $.35 each

Temp: 4.5 Drumsticks - nice and hot

Sauces: Options are Ranch & Blue Cheese

Veggies: Celery is offered

Wet Naps: Not provided with wing order - didn't ask if they had them available but napkins were right on your table.

Wings Around Waukesha: Bullwinkle's

Bullwinkle's (Formerly known as Panos) is a sports bar and banquet facility just barely outside of the Waukesha city limits in Brookfield. I have been here a few times for both banquets and food, but I just tried the wings for the first time on my latest visit.

Friends of ours had just returned from an amazing European vacation and we met up with them to catch up and hear all about the trip. We decided to grab a table in the bar area. If you ever want to watch a sporting event with friends, this is your place. There isn't a seat in the bar that you can't see at least four TVs from! And the decor is extremely sporty - very different than the banquet rooms downstairs. They do have outdoor seating but it was a little chilly and being out front, it's right near noisy Bluemound Rd.

On Tuesdays, the wings are half price and it's also happy hour until 7 pm. The happy hour includes domestic beer and rail drink discounts and complimentary appetizers (cheese and crackers and the like). We were there for the wings so we spent a few minutes deciding on the sauces that each of us would try.

Bullwinkle's has a designated wing area on their menu with ordering sizes the sauces listed in heat order. Baby Moose included 10 wings, Mama Moose was 20, and Papa Moose was 30 wings. I tended to stay towards the milder options, but between the four of us we tried terriyaki, sweet Thai chili, Jamaican me crazy, and a few others. I also order deep friend pickle spears.

The wings came out rather quickly and everything was nicely labeled for us. Wings come with celery and ranch or blue cheese. The sauce level on the wings was a decent amount and not overly saucy.

The wings were nice and big and full of flavor. They were juicy and the flavors were great. Our friends like a bit more heat and said the ones they tried could have been hotter, but overall everyone thought they were great.

The pickle spears were a little harder to eat than pickle slices. The spear would separate from the breading and all come out with the first bite. But the breading I did try was delicious. I think I'll stick to slices from here forward when ordering.

Bullwinkle's Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.4

Flavors: 5 Drumsticks (lots of flavors - something for everyone)

Size: 4.5 Drumsticks

Taste: 4 Drumsticks

Price: 2.5 Drumsticks on non-wing night 12.99 for 10! /4 Drumsticks on wing night ($.65 each)

Temp: 4.5 Drumsticks - nice and hot

Sauces: Options are Ranch & Blue Cheese

Veggies: Celery is offered

Wet Naps: Not provided with wing order - didn't ask if they had them available

Wings Around Waukesha: Neighbors

While I was coming up with the idea for Wings Around Waukesha and checking out websites of restaurants in the area with wings, I came across The Neighbors Bar & Grille, a place I had driven past a million times but never stopped in.

I read on their menu that their wings are actually grilled and I'm pretty sure my mouth began watering instantly. My guy and I decided to make a venture out there one night for dinner and check out the wings and other menu items.

The bar is a little off the beaten path but on a very busy road, Greenfield Ave., and extremely visible. It's definitely made a name for itself as it's always busy when I drive by. This place is a sports bar  and a great place to watch all the sports action - plenty of TVs that can be seen from just about any seat in the establishment and memorabilia on the walls.Check out their gallery.

We perused the beer menu and selected some micro-brews to enjoy and then it was onto the wings! On Thursdays, wings are half the price they are from the regular menu - a great deal. We ordered 12 and each picked a sauce. Because my buds are little weaker with heat, I went with Sticky which is a BBQ sauce and my guy went with Smokin' A.

We also decided to order entrees as well because we weren't sure if the wings would fill us or not.

The wings didn't take too long to arrive and they were amazing! The grill marks just added that extra level of awesome to wings.

We dug in and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The wings were decent size and the sauces were delicious. A table sat down next to us and asked us about our wings before they made their order "Are the worth it?" With messy fingers and saucy lips I gave them a definitely head nod that it was a must-order! 


I really love the fact that these were grilled. It really adds a whole new level of flavor to the already amazing wings. We finished them off and the sauces were really good. Though mine was a typical BBQ, it had a hint of sweet and honey that I enjoyed. My guys smokin' A were right on cue with flavor and just a bit too much for me with heat. But we loved them - clean plate club members here! 

As for our entrees,  I went for something really crazy--The Dewey Dog, which is a 1/4 lb. hot dog, stuffed with cheddar, wrapped in bacon and deep fried. I ordered sweet potato fries on the side. My guy ordered the Honey Crisp Apple salad -- Could our entrees be any more opposite?

The meals were excellent, though the cheese tended to ooze from my dog the whole time. But it was still really unique and not as greasy as I was expecting.

We will definitely return for more meals, wings and drinks.

The Neighbors Bar & Grille Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.6

Flavors: 4 Drumsticks (A decent variety - could use something really unique)

Size: 4.5 Drumsticks

Taste: 5 Drumsticks - the grilling gave them top honors!

Price: 3 Drumsticks on non-wing night (almost $1.00 each)/4.5 Drumsticks on wing night ($.50 each)

Temp: 5 Drumsticks - nice and hot

Sauces: Options are Ranch & Blue Cheese

Veggies: Celery is offered

Wet Naps: Not provided with wing order - didn't ask if they had them available

Wings Around Waukesha: Mainstream

Here it is - the first wing post on my blog! Sure I have talked about wings before from some of my favorite places, but never to the level that I am going to take it this time. I'm starting it off with Mainstream Bar & Grill. It was at this bar that I really brought the chicken wing blog idea to fruition. I had done some research of all the bars in the area and their wings and specials, but this was the first place that my guy and I ventured to on a mission to try their wings.

Although Tuesdays & Thursdays feature $.45 wings, we went on a Sunday, because...why not? We got to the bar right around noon and picked a table for two. The bartender came over and welcomed us.

We went right to the Chicken Wings area of the menu and started plotting our game plan. Ten wings are $7.95 when not on a wing special night and every five can be in a different sauce.  We asked about the sauces on the menu and if they were in order of heat. Unfortunately they are not.

The menu lists them as: Naked, Garlic Herb, Honey BBQ, Caribbean Jerk, Buffalo, Demon, Inferno, and Thai Peanut. The bartender let us know that the spiciest is Inferno and Thai Peanut is about the same level as Buffalo.

I ordered ten wings and selected Garlic Herb and Honey BBQ. My guy ordered Thai Peanut and Caribbean Jerk. We also ordered the Fried Chip Basket because the chips are amazing! And I figured we might need a side to enjoy with the wings.

It didn't take too long for our wings to come out and the bartender apologized that the cook accidentally made all ten for each of us with one of our sauces. She would be bringing the other five for each of us out shortly. This was no problem for us and we appreciated her apology.

And so we dug in. What I noticed first about the Garlic Herb wings is that the wings weren't overly saucy and I wouldn't be elbow deep in wing sauce causing me to use 10,000 napkins. For me this is a plus--I appreciate wings that are coated, but not dripping with sauce. And I loved the flavor on these wings. The mix of herbs and garlic was terrific. My new goal is to figure out their blend and use it on all my chicken. It was really good. I couldn't stop eating them!

My guy's Thai Peanut wings were nicely coated in sauce.. We of course shared our wings so I could try the other flavors--I agree that these had a slight kick but weren't overly hot. The heat mainly comes at the end. I could probably handle a few of these, but for my guy, he thought they were a nice heat and could eat them all day.

I didn't take shots of our additional wings because my fingers were a little too greasy (and maybe I forgot). The Honey BBQ is a very sweet sauce with no kick at all--very mild. This sauce too would be great on grilled chicken.

Unfortunately my guys Caribbean Jerk wings came with the wrong sauce, but whatever the sauce was, it was really good. The bartender was quite busy at this time and because the wings were still delicious we continued to eat without complaints.And the chips were a welcome snack for us to munch on between wings. We will definitely be returning to Mainstream to eat here again and try more wing flavors. And my guy has to have one of their burgers - I love those too.

Mainstream Bar & Grill Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.3

Flavors: 4 Drumsticks (flavors in heat order would be helpful but great variety)

Size: 3.5 Drumsticks

Taste: 4.5 Drumsticks - huge fan!

Price: 3 Drumsticks on non-wing night (~.80 each)/4.5 Drumsticks on wing night ($.45 each)

Temp: 5 Drumsticks - came out hot but we were able to dig in right away!

Sauces: Options are Ranch & Blue Cheese

Veggies: Celery is offered

Wet Naps: Not provided with wing order - didn't ask if they had them available

400th Post! And a New Feature

Drum Roll Please......I have reached post number 400!!!!! Wowzers! What started out as an online diary has morphed into this blog over the past years. Attending a blogger conference in Utah in February of 2013 is really what got me focused and set my course for the posts that you are reading today. In just the past year, I have changed the look of my blog and actually had a logo developed for my "brand." And in the past two years, I create a Facebook page and have fans that follow and comment. All of this just boggles my mind, but I still enjoy this pastime and love to see where it's going.

A huge thank you to all of you that read my blog. I hope that what I share brings you some information and maybe a few smiles or laughs along the way. 

Time for a little reminiscing over the past few years. Here are a few of my favorite posts that I have shared with all of you.

The post that started it all

The addition of the bars and restaurants tab on the blog

Paninis and Potatoes Post

Working with Qdoba for some posts

The Annual Food Blogger Cookie Swap: 2014, 2013, & 2012

My year as a Foodie PenPal

And of course, all of my posts about Waukesha. This town holds a special place in my heart and I hope that my posts show that. I want everyone to see how great of a city I live in and want to come here and spend time and money!

And with that, I want to introduce a new feature that I am adding to my blog. I'm calling it.......

Wings Around Waukesha

Eight years ago if you asked me to go out and get wings with you, I probably would have said no. I didn't understand biting meat off of tiny bones smothered in hot sauce. But now....ask me to get wings with you and I'm in! I still don't like the hot sauces, but just like everything else in this crazy world, wing sauces have developed tenfold and restaurants offer more than just BBQ, Mild & Hot.

I want to share my wing experiences with you in the community. I already have a few favorites that I'm going to start with to get things rolling and once I have a few posts written up, I'll add a tab to the site that features all the wings I have tried.

If there is a specific place you think that I might want to check out, let me know. My guy and I love wings and are always open for trying new places. And he likes spicy foods so we will be able to try a variety of sauces.

I am working on a rating system and also have some specific things that I'm looking for to compare the wings from location to location. I hope you find this feature fun and useful if you are a wing fan too. Watch for the first post next week!

Again thank you to all my readers and here's to another 400 posts! 

Red Rooster Dinner

My guy and I were looking for someplace to eat recently and I suggested taking him to a place that I love and know that he would enjoy the food too. Andrea's Red Rooster is off of Springdale Rd., just north of the Majestic Theater. In my opinion, it's a bit of a hidden gem with great food and drinks. I actually worked here over a decade ago as a summer job. I met some great friends from that job that I still talk to these days.

The place has changed slightly since I worked there - a bit more of a pub atmosphere with more high-top tables to extend the bar and less dining room area. The place is really a hot spot for lunch and happy hour crowd.

The menu has changed completely since I worked there but the food is still just as good. My guy and I decided to try the wings for an appetizer. They are quite decent in size and come covered in just enough sauce. They were really good and I would definitely order them again.

I ordered myself a cocktail from their specials board and the bartender wasn't shy on making sure I got my money's worth. It was cherry vodka and lemonade and quite strong but really good.

Then came our sandwiches. I opted to build my own burger and created a bacon mushroom swiss. It was really good - the bacon was crispy and the burger was juicy. I did chips on the side.

My guy did a burger as well and opted for fries. I believe his was the Rooster burger but I could be mistaken with BBQ and haystack onion rings on it. We both really liked the burgers - - nice and juicy and having a variety of toppings is always great. Before we even walked out the door, my guy asked when we could come back again.

They have a nice patio out back for summer dining so I told him we should come for dinner sometime and enjoy the patio with some friends.

Andrea's Red Rooster

A few weeks ago, my coworkers and I ended a meeting at a client's office right at lunch time. So what else was there to do but to go out for a bite. I suggested Andrea's Red Rooster and neither had been there before. They were in for a treat.

My history with the Red Rooster goes back to my junior year of college and looking for a part-time summer job to fill my days with while making some easy cash.  I was told of this job opening and that they even suggested me for the job from fellow industry coworkers and I became the summer hostess. Lunches could get pretty hectic as I had to manage the phone, place to-go orders and make sure tables were cleared and ready to go quickly. I even refilled beverages and took a few orders when we got really slammed.  I served a few dinner shifts but it really wasn't my thing at that time.

I left at the start of the school year and since then, there is no longer a hostess position and it's seat yourself style! They have a beautiful back patio (that was freshly constructed when I worked there) to have a drink or a meal on. Some walls have been removed and high top tables have been added.

My friends stumbled across this place when they lived at The Meadows on Springdale in Waukesha and we would meet for evening drinks on a nice warm summer night. Now none of my friends live in The Meadows, so it's not as convenient for us to go there. :(

Ok - back to current times. We walked in for lunch to a pretty packed restaurant but found a high top that worked perfectly for our trio. We were happily greeted by our server and supplied menus with a lot of options.

I decided on the Grilled Chicken Portabella with chips, John got the triple stacked club with fries and CT chose the Cajun Chicken with sweet potato fries.

The food came out really quickly for a lunch hour and all of us were really impressed with our meals. John and CT commended me on my selection of restaurants as they tend to stay pretty mainstream. The last place I did guide them too no longer served lunch but they tried another place in downtown Waukesha and enjoyed it.

I'm hoping to do lunches with some of my coworkers once a month. It's good for us to get out of the office and talk about life instead of always just work stuff.

And maybe I can get my friends out there for Monday or Tuesday night wing specials that they have. We have our favorite place for wings but maybe it's time to branch out!? And the fish fry sounds great too - I am always up for a fish fry!